Home Fund donations a special kind of gift-giving

The holiday spirit is alive and well on the North Olympic Peninsula.

On the weekend before Christmas it is apparent that many, many people have included in their gift-giving people they don’t know by donating to the Peninsula Home Fund.

The Home Fund offers an essential bridge for people when things just don’t match up as they work to remain or become productive members of society.

The fund, which is distributed in grants from Olympic Community Action Programs (OlyCAP), creates a safety net for Peninsula residents when they have nowhere else to turn.

The goal is “a hand up, not a handout.”

This year’s campaign — the 31st annual — began on Thanksgiving and will last through New Year’s Eve. But the fund itself never closes and can accept donations anytime.

Donations of any amount are always welcome. Every gift makes a difference, regardless of size.

A little can mean a lot. The average amount given per person this year has been $143.

The annual cap for an individual to receive is $350.

How to apply

To apply for a Peninsula Home Fund grant, contact one of the three OlyCAP offices:

• OlyCAP’s Port Angeles office is at 228 W. First St., Suite J (Armory Square Mall); 360-452-4726. For Port Angeles- and Sequim-area residents.

• Its Port Townsend office is at 823 Commerce Loop; 360-385-2571. For Jefferson County residents.

• The Forks office is at 421 Fifth Ave.; 360-374-6193. For West End ­residents.

Leave a message in the voice mailbox at any of the three numbers, and a Home Fund caseworker will phone you back.

OlyCAP’s website: www.olycap.org; email: action@olycap.org.

How to donate

To donate, write a check to “Peninsula Home Fund” and attach it to the coupon that appears in today’s Peninsula Daily News.

Mail both items to Peninsula Home Fund, Peninsula Daily News, P.O. Box 1330, Port Angeles, WA 98362.

You also can contribute online using a credit card. Just go to www.olycap.org/peninsula-home-fund.

All contributions are IRS tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law for the year in which the check is written.

Your personal information is kept confidential. PDN does not rent, sell, give or otherwise share your address or other information with anyone or make any other use of it.

No money is deducted by the Peninsula Daily News for administration fees or any other overhead.

Every penny goes to OlyCAP, which uses it to help the most vulnerable members of our community, from infants to families to seniors, taking up to 10 percent to help pay for the vital programs and services for Home Fund clients.

If you have any questions about the fund, call Publisher Terry R. Ward at 360-417-3500.